Top 25 Transformative High Schools

Our list of the top high schools in America highlights places that best prepare students for postsecondary education. However, because there is a correlation between wealth and graduation, and between wealth and achievement, schools in high-income areas tend to rank higher. In order to recognize schools that are doing well despite challenges with budgets, Newsweek and The Daily Beast re-ranked all of our top schools based on the number of students that fall below federal poverty lines. The result: the most transformative secondary institutions across the country.

The methodology for this list is simple: we multiplied each top school’s Newsweek score by the percentage of students who are eligible for free- or reduced-price lunches, a leading indicator of socioeconomic status. The overall ranking for each school is based on the graduation rate, college-bound rate of grads, AP participation, and test scores.